Born in 1969,
Bowie Wong was intrigued by fashion from a very young age. As the son of a Chinese Opera singer, his fascination developed from the elaborate costumes by which he was surrounded. The visual feast of the operatic world fed his hunger for fashion. Bowie still treasures two of his mother's costumes, within his personal collections from which he gathers inspiration. Ironically however, it was the intensity of opera that led Bowie to leave home at the tender age of 11-years-old. “I was a difficult child, perhaps because I was so curious. My parents were always busy with the opera, so they decided that it would be best for all if I lived with my cousin. It was then that I became exposed to popular music and western culture.” Having developed his creative mind and experienced modern culture, Bowie decided to pursue his passions further a field and fled to Japan to study a degree in ‘Pure Art and Design’, aged 17. By 1989 Bowie returned to his roots, studying degrees in ‘Theatre and Drama’ and then ‘Stage &
Costume Design’ in Canada. Passionate and now educated, the next few years saw Bowie’s life become pure theatrics. Bowie worked on ‘Phantom of the Opera’ in Canada, for Paul McCartney on his world tour, and for Madonna on her European ‘Girlie show’. “Watching her work from such close proximity was intriguing. The relentless desire for perfection and the need to reinvent herself time and again was a great lesson for me.” The hype continued with Bowie returning to his native Hong Kong, in a multitude of creative roles that were increasingly fashion influenced. Bowie worked as a TV producer on HKTVB, image designer for Joyce boutique and creative enhancer for HKTDC fashion show, for the likes of Chanel, Jean Paul Gaultier, Trussardi and Calvin Klein. “At this point I felt destined to work in fashion. I was creating shows for these great designers and I was more and more drawn into the world of fashion.” The lure proved too much for the self-confessed fashion fiend. Keen to adapt his skills Bowie moved to Australia, where he enrolled to study fashion design at East Sydney TAFE. Whilst the project was intended to direct and broaden his talent, Bowie found the course stifling and restrictive. Bowie therefore immersed himself into the fashion industry, where his hands on experience combined with his extensive knowledge of design (gained whilst obtaining three degrees), proved to better training than any course or teaching could provide. The result is the increasingly innovative and original label of Bowie Wong. Bowie Wong the label, not the person was launched in 1999 and represented Australia in 2000 at Hong Kong Fashion Week. The Wong was dropped with Bowie Women and Bowie Men launched later on in 2004.
They are crisper and sharper than ever paired with the softer tops this season. For something more girly, pair them with feminine, frilly, soft tops like above in left: Derek Lam and right: Zac Posen. I LOVE the Peter Som (whoops! thx, I got too lazy to check!) outfit here, the contrast of the pretty frilly top and cardigan with the crisp boxy shorts is stunning.
For something more casual, pair them with this season's just as boxy structured tops left: Pringle of Scotland or loose tops right: Paul Smith. Last season I was still floundering, but this season I think I REALLY want a pair of white short shorts- preferably a boxy pair, because I think the "boxiness" has more volume, making the legs look slimmer. Also, it doesn't look as skimpy as hot pants.
So I am starting to look again this season. I am definitely going for white, because I think it will match everything best. Something like these two above from left: Adam + Eve and right: Express. In fact, I think I'll go to Express this weekend and try them on and see if they fit as perfect as they look!
More cute shorts from Alice + Olivia. I love the cuff details on the grey shorts!
For a bit more interesting details, go for the rows of buttons like these two from left: Lauren Moffatt and right: Express. Although, the downside is that its going to be the devil to take off, so don't wear them when you're going shopping for bottoms!
